Tennessee Williams was a revered playwright. This was because he used a lot of sneaky symbolism in his plays. His symbolism affects the audience by making it think. In A Streetcar Named Desire, one of the many symbols that occurs most frequently is the Varsouviana polka. The polka plays whenever Blanche is thinking about her husband or whenever she is about to panic or lose her grip on something. The first time we hear the Varsouviana tune is in scene one on page twenty eight, line six, when she is talking to Stanley about her husband who died when they were quite younger. Blanche has just arrived from Belle Reve in Laurel, Mississippi to the city of New Orleans to stay with Stella and her husband, Stanley. Stanley tries to make small talk with Blanche while Stella is in the bathroom as they have never met before. As the conversation goes on, Stanley asks Blanche about her previous marriage. As soon as he does, the polka starts to play. This instance of the Varsouviana polka gives more information about Blanche as before we did not know she was married. It adds to the story as before this instance of the polka, we did not know that Blanche was a widow and that she is still upset about her husband dying. …show more content…
Blanche had caught Allan in bed with a older man who had been his friend for years. The polka was playing at the casino where Blanche and Allan were dancing and when he had run out to shoot himself in the mouth, making the back of his head blow away. The polka fades out when Mitch takes her in his arms and gives her a hug. It shows that Blanche is still haunted by that horrific memory and how she is lonely without Allan. It adds to the story as it creates background to why Blanche does go into her panic